Do I wake or sleep?

Lots of soccer this weekend--two games Saturday and one yesterday.  I had very little downtime between the two on Saturday so I was pretty much exhausted for the second game (I even napped on my way to the field).  But I killed it in the first one--of our team's four goals scored, I scored two of them!  One of the guys on the other team said admiringly "player of the game!"  (This was during a very windy game--and the wind was against us, and we had these ridic tiny popup goals.) And the best sign was that the guys consistently passed it to me.  YAY MY BALL SKILLZ ARE IMPROVING.  SO HAPPY.  The clinics I took have *really* helped my game.  I got to the game yesterday a bit late (fuck the MTA, haaaaaaate, I waited TWELVE MINUTES for a train) so I had to sit out the first part.  When they put me in, it was at halfback--normally I play forward but I can play back if necessary.  It was fun actually, it's nice getting a break from constantly trying to score--sometimes it's nice to cockblock them for a change.  Again, one of the opposing players was very complimentary, telling me "you have got this section SECURED, man!"  Afterward we all went for a beer.

My Dolphman season is starting up again--first game is this coming Sunday.  This may be my last season with them--I've had a lot of fun but it really does irritate me that we don't play as a team.  We could do so much better--we could and should support each other so much more, by passing and supporting.  We shall see.

We had auditions for Rocky Horror--it's mostly cast but we're still looking for a Brad (we have a candidate coming in on Wednesday to sing).  Several returnees, including Stephen (tho' not as the narrator--he's ensemble), Paul as Rocky, Jen as Janet and Muslimah in the ensemble (and me of course as Columbia).  And Tawni is NOT Magenta--she had no shot anyway, after her shit during Pirates but luckily she didn't audition that well anyway.  An adorable preppy/goth type named Charlotte is Magenta, and the guy who played Riff Raff in 2005 (so Jason knows him) is coming back.  And our Frank!  He is absolutely amazing--incredible voice and just loves the role.  Mateo wanted to auditon and emailed me, asking me to "keep him notified" or something like that--but he never came to the audition.  I hope he wasn't waiting for me to email him personally!  I'm sure he was emailed by Dave and got the Facebook invite but it's a little weird.  But regardless, as great an actor as Mateo was, he really cannot sing :(  And the new Frank definitely can!

Roland showed up to audition and typically managed to drive Dave and me absolutely insane with irritation in under 5 minutes.  He came shuffling in with a goofy grin and was asking us "what is this about? Are you having auditions?  Should I sign up?  I don't have anything prepared..."  YOU CAME IN HERE.  We did not seek you out, you moron--you came in here, don't take up our time with your unprofessional behavior and your inane drivel!  Oh my God, he is so unbelievably annoying.  I told Dave about his nonsense during A Christmas Carol 2007 (he casually told Gina and me that he couldn't be there for most of tech week--dropped this little bombshell the day before).  He just DOESN'T GET IT.  He is a perfectly nice guy but sometimes that's just Not Enough.  I can't believe that Caley ever dated him!

Left around 1:00 am; the PATH didn't come for awhile. Just got home a little while ago. Rehearsal was long and inconclusive--the scene changes look like chaos to me but Carl (TD) and Matt (LD) were assuring me it will all be fine, the crew just needs to run them. I literally was hyperventilating but they were holding my hands and saying there's nothing to worry about, even kind of laughing (with me, not at me).

However what did go smoothly, looked somberly gorgeous. The biiig scene change, Fred's Party into Ignorance and Want--looks GREAT.

*Breathe, breathe*

I just got off the phone with the Hudson Current reporter from last night.She asked me a lot of questions, like would I say there's more music in this production of A Christmas Carol than others I've seen (I said well, there are about 15 pieces in this production but they're not set pieces, they're used in a variety of ways--to comment on the action, to underscore certain themes, to add tension, to prepare the audience--so maybe it will feel like more, or less). She asked about my "take" on the show--I talked about our focus on the language, the authentic (and yet not beaten into the ground) music. She wanted to know about the tablework process--I told her about the early rehearsal, talking about classical technique, studying poetry, hearing the cadences. She also asked if I thought my version had more thpoookiness--I said that I was always interested in ghosts and even as a child, my favorite ghost was Future, with the long creepy robes and talon-like fingers*. I said I took some liberties with the Ghost of the Future--I didn't want to give it away but I tried to add thpoookiness there. She asked why did I think Dickens used the ghosts? I thought about it and said perhaps he was saying that some changes are just too big for us mortals to accomplish on our own--you need supernatural intervention. I mean, he does it all in one night! As she was typing this up (I could hear her typing over the phone) something else occurred to me--I said "actually the very first phrase in the book bears this out." I started reciting it and she joined in--"Marley was dead, to begin with." And at the end of the passage he finishes with "this must be distinctly understood--or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate." So he gets in both worldly, inescapable fact of life and death, and the otherworldly miracle with which the story ends--in the very first passage. Alpha and Omega.

The article should be out on Wednesday.

*I was showing Duncan this picture



of the Ghost of the Future--it kills me. I just love that prissy little finger pointing down--it's so precise and showy. Like he just got a manicure and doesn't want to mess it up.

I've been so busy the past few days and it's not going to relent until sometime around Christmas (!). Saturday I had the AATI reading--we had rehearsal for that in the morning, then I hit the PATH into Hoboken for Xmas Carol rehearsal, then BACK into Midtown for the reading. I was planning to go up to visit Jason in the hospital after that but heard from Don that he was discharged that day so no go. After the reading Tim (who was at the reading) and I went to Houston's to have dinner. We talked about Brandy's (a piano bar on the Upper East Sie where we used to go a lot) and the show and all sorts of things.

Sunday I had Xmas Carol rehearsal, of course. Since last Thursday we have been having stumblethroughs and workthroughs, and also filling in the gaps for the sections that haven't been fully addressed. For example, last night we finally fully blocked and choreographed the Fezziwig scene--we'd had a choreography rehearsal much earlier but half the cast was missing so we had to pick it up last night. I added a bunch of party bits--flirtations, interactions, etc. I also worked out exactly where and how I want the choir to be singing certain pieces--very seldom does the choir actually sing a piece fully all the way through as in a standard musical. It's usually as underscoring or punctuation or as part of a transition. In the second Cratchit scene, when they're mourning Tiny Tim, I'm using the Coventry Carol--I have the choir singing a phrase, and then Mrs. Cratchit has a line. Then the choir comes back in a few lines later. I don't want the show to stop for the musical pieces--they're commentary and atmosphere. Same thing with the show's "anthem" which is an Episcopalian Advent hymn called "Remember, O Thou Man" (which chorus says "therefore, repent!"). I use that piece three times during the play, at three different key scenes, including when Scrooge is staring at the body on the bed.

I have to admit, I'm kind of pleased about the Ghost of the Future sequence. I hope it comes out as thpooooky as I imagine it. I won't tell you what I've done with it but it's not the way it's usually done. I was trying to make it both more thpooooky and also more meaningful. Gina looked pleased last night and told me what I did with the first part of the Future sequence was much more effective than what's usually done.

Slowly, slowly it's all coming into place. *tries to breathe* Tomorrow's going to be interesting--our first night on the set.

Complete exhaustion. I slept a good eight hours last night and nothing is helping.

Yesterday was nice. Mom and I stayed in our pajamas and watched the Yule Log on TV, then two different versions of A Christmas Carol. Stocking, presents, etc. then we saw Peter Pan. It's FANTASTIC. I must reiterate--FANTASTIC. If you have any love for this story, RUN OUT AND SEE IT. The cinematography was literally breathtaking, and the chemistry between Peter and Wendy is electric. I've never seen two child actors with that kind of chemistry before--they were incredible. There's a lot of subtext in this version; as one review said, with this version, it's there, whereas other versions (notably the disappointing Disney cartoon) ignored it. I was especially impressed with the kid (Jeremy ?) playing Peter--he was word-perfect. Even his American accent didn't bother me, because everything else was so good. That's such a difficult role to cast, and they hit the jackpot with him--he's obnoxious, charming, cocky, remote, self-centered, cute, a show-off, mysterious. He was simply perfect. Wendy was great too; the actress was good and they emphasized her more tomboyish elements. And the whole story is so much more complex and interesting--both Peter and Wendy are approaching adolescence and that brings so much more to the story, because Peter is shown not just rejecting adulthood but seeing it as a possibility, fearing it. "Come with me and you will never, never have to think about grown-up things again." "Never is a long time."

Captain Hook was excellent as well, not as foppish as in the musical but playing both sides of ridiculous and deadly. The crocodile was terrifying--he was huge, a primordial reptile! Tinker Bell was very well-done, and the scene where she almost dies was very clever. I won't tell you how they handled it but it was clever and moving at the same time. Never Never Land was--oh God, it was perfect, a child's dream. Pink fluffy cotton candy clouds, rich dank greenery everywhere, beautiful and deadly mermaids right out of Homer. The weather scenes are especially gorgeous.

There's one especially breath-taking scene when, on Never Never Land, he beckons Wendy over to watch pixies wooing each other under a hollow tree. Pleased with her delight, he steps back, looks at her and bows. She curtsies and steps into his arms and they dance together--flying together throughout the treetops, against the stars. It was so beautiful I almost cried. It was lovely. I can't describe how this movie made me feel--it was everything I'd hoped for. Mom felt the same way--we both thought it was fantastic. We love the story of Peter Pan--I always loved the musical, and I've read the original play and books. Thank God they did it justice this time.

I do believe in fairies.